Stab inoculation technique is used to check mobility and anaerobic growth in microbial strains. A soft agar plate stabbing is an inoculation technique widely used to differentiate between bacterial strains based on their mobility and anaerobic growth. Between two stabs in the soft agar the two bacterial colonies may grow differently. If a bacterial species in anaerobic, it will grow at the bottom of the stab.
If a bacterial species is non-motile, it will grow as along the stab line. Whereas, if the bacterial species is motile, the growth will be hazy and diffusing.
A bacterial growth in a stab culture can be transparent or opaque depending on the mobility.
